Tuesday, June 21, 2005

I Heart Chavy

I don't care that he's dumber than a box of rocks. It doesn't bother me that he's got the confidence of an acne-faced, overweight hermaphrodite. I love Eric Chavez.

Anyone see that single he stretched into a double with a head-first slide last night? What courage.

Chavy's absolutely crushing the ball this month. What's most impressive is that 13 of his 23 hits in June have gone for extra bases.

Eric ChavezJune Stats.348 Avg.. .427 OBP.. .773 Slg%.. 1.200 OPS

But you know who I heart even more than Chavy?

Bobby Crosby.

That kid's something special. I love everything about him. His approach at the plate. His fancy footwork in the field. His hustle on the basepath. I love it all.

And have you seen his ass?!? Good lord.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Chavy's resurgence has been coupled with Crosby's return from the DL.

Bobby CrosbyJune Stats.302 Avg.. .343 OBP.. .492 Slg%.. .835 OPS

I don't particularly like Crosby batting third in the order, as he has been recently, but I don't mind Macha experimenting a bit. Especially since it's becoming pretty clear that Chavy isn't the guy for the three spot. He might not ever be that guy because of his tendency for prolonged slumps, but that doesn't take away from what he DOES bring to the table: Power. And lots of it.

I'd prefer if he were protecting someone in the order with a little better plate discipline, but right now only Scott Hatteberg and Bobby Kielty best fit that description...which explains why Croby's batting third. Eventually, I think Dan Johnson could develop into one hell of a three hitter. He's got the perfect blend of patience, plate discipline and power. A future with Johnson, Chavez and Crosby filling the heart of the order would bring me great joy.

Hopefully Macha will be gone by then and we'll have someone who doesn't let the players write the line-up, but takes some friggin initiative and writes the line-up himself.